which had read

USAGE SUMMARY

The phrase "which had read" is not correct in standard written English.
It is typically used in contexts where you are referring to something that has been read by a subject in the past, but it requires a clearer subject to be grammatically correct. Example: "The book, which had been read by many, was a bestseller."

⚠ May contain grammatical issues

News & Media

Science

Academia

Human-verified examples from authoritative sources

Exact Expressions

2 human-written examples

These results confirmed overwhelmingly that the machines which had read the punch cards had failed to count thousands of citizens' votes for presidential candidates.

The New York Times

In the case of King, Chevron would have had the Court defer to the I.R.S., which had read a disputed sentence of the law to mean that people in states that had not established insurance exchanges, and who instead signed up on the federal one, were still eligible for subsidies.

The New Yorker

Human-verified similar examples from authoritative sources

Similar Expressions

58 human-written examples

The second dataset, which had reads with substantially lower quality, illustrated that even reference-based tasks can benefit substantially from read preprocessing.

Bioinformatics

The CIA, which has read the entire Senate report, is expected to release a redacted version of a June 2013 response to the study indicating that the agency stands by its original objections, a U.S. official told HuffPost.

Huffington Post

Significantly identified genes, which have read assignments above the threshold set, were determined by ranking the genes based on the number of read assignments, followed by selecting the top ranking genes that captured 95% of the assigned reads.

BMC Genomics

A Kerberos realm may also have one or more slave servers, which have read-only copies of the Kerberos database that are periodically propagated from the master server.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

The architecture developed by us implements a completely independent CMBPC system running on top of Siemens' own enterprise information system which has read-only interaction with the application tier of the enterprise system.

International Journal of Accounting Information Systems

"She asked about the books, which she had read — which is more than I have".

The New York Times - Arts

This was regardless of the fact that mothers themselves had commented several times of their own difficulty in trying to remember safety messages which they had read, or which had been communicated to them by health professionals.

BMC Public Health

I then chose another slim volume (which I had read, unassigned, during college), Voltaire's Candide, which took longer than it should have.

Huffington Post

He switched on The Great Gatsby, which he had read as a young boy.

The Guardian - Film

Expert writing Tips

Best practice

When using relative clauses, ensure the subject and verb agree in number. Replace "which had read" with phrases like "which had been read" or "that had been read" for grammatical accuracy.

Common error

Avoid using "which had read" without a clear subject performing the action. The passive form "which had been read" is generally more appropriate when the actor is not specified.

Linguistic Context

The phrase "which had read" functions as part of a relative clause, intended to modify a noun by providing additional information about it. However, according to Ludwig AI the phrase is not correct in standard written English and needs a clearer subject. It requires a subject to be grammatically correct.

Expression frequency: Rare

Frequent in

News & Media

33%

Science

33%

Academia

33%

Less common in

Formal & Business

0%

Encyclopedias

0%

Wiki

0%

Ludwig's WRAP-UP

In summary, "which had read" is a grammatically questionable phrase that functions as a relative clause, intending to describe something based on a past reading action. According to Ludwig AI, the phrase is not correct in standard written English and should be replaced with grammatically correct alternatives. The register tends to be neutral, stemming from news, science, and academic sources. While its intended purpose is descriptive, the phrase's incorrectness limits its effectiveness in clear communication. Therefore, opting for alternatives like ""which had been read"" or specifying the subject ensures accuracy and clarity.

More alternative expressions

Phrases that express similar concepts, ordered by semantic similarity:

that had been read

Emphasizes the action of reading being completed prior to the context being established.

which was read

Focuses on the action of reading in a passive voice, suitable when the reader is not specified.

that they had read

Specifies a group or individual ('they') who performed the reading action.

that I had read

Specifies that the speaker is the one who performed the reading action.

that she had read

Indicates a specific female subject who has completed the reading.

that he had read

Indicates a specific male subject who has completed the reading.

that we had read

Implies that a group including the speaker has read something previously.

having been read

Emphasizes the state of being read, often used to describe the condition of a document or text.

that was previously read

Stresses the previous nature of the reading event, highlighting its completion before a certain point.

after reading

Focuses on the temporal sequence, describing events that happen subsequent to the reading action.

FAQs

How can I correctly use a relative clause referring to something previously read?

Use the passive voice construction "which had been read" or "that had been read". For example, "The book, "which had been read" by many, was a bestseller".

What's the difference between "which had read" and "which had been read"?

"Which had read" is grammatically incorrect, it needs a subject performing the reading action. "Which had been read" is the correct passive form, indicating that something was read by an unspecified subject.

What are some alternatives to "which had read"?

Alternatives include phrases like "that had been read", "which was read", or specifying the subject: "that they had read".

In what contexts is "which had been read" most appropriate?

"Which had been read" is appropriate in formal writing when you want to emphasize that something has been read without specifying who did the reading.